1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to carriers for fragile flat articles and the like. More particularly, this invention relates to printed circuit board carriers which are useful at assembly work stations as well as for protective storage and transportation.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Numerous carriers and holders for printed circuit boards have been devised. An example of such a carrier is shown in Rivkin U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,899 which provides for parallel slotted board holders mounted on a wire framework. The slots or grooves in the board holders are formed by pressing a series of straight ribs from the back side of the board holders. The resulting metal drawing tends to produce board holders which are slightly bowed in the vertical direction. Circuit boards or cards inserted in slots in the middle portion of the board holder fit more tightly than those near the ends. When such carriers are used at a robotic work station, the extraction force may exceed the tolerance range of the robot, and the circuit board may be bypassed.
Similar board holders are made of injection molded plastic, requiring metal end walls to maintain sufficiently precise alignment.
Prior circuit board carriers are often complex, requiring assembly of many different parts. Other disadvantages are excessive room taken up for storage, an inability to dissemble, nonstackability, and difficulty in precise alignment.